Reviews by Bartian:

Ah the splendor of Russian River!! First introduced to Pliny the Elder at a great bar in Folsom CA, I was forced to "settle" for bottles of Blind Pig from New Seasons in Portland . . . if only all examples of settling were this good!

Blind Pig gives the initial appearence of a good bottle of golden honey with a thick, creamy-white head. The beer carbonates throughout the glass as it pushes the aroma up through the glass.

And oh what an aroma!! My favorite part of the beer is its exceptionally sweet smell of hops and citrus. I find myself finding whomever I can to experience the smell (but only to tell them to go get their own!).

The taste is a cocophony of stong, fresh hops and citrus; with a subtle bit of pine. About as wonderful as I could imagine were it not for the Elder and a handful of others. The other stiking aspect of the taste is the comforting, rather whipped feel of the head; almost akin to having a light whip on a milkshake.

The mouthfeel is clean and crisp with a lingering aftertaste from the fragrant hops but with a balance that is common with the most drinkable beers.

Blind Pig is a true joy to behold and a testament to freshly brewed, freshly hopped beer.

More User Reviews:

A: Pours an almost crystal clear pale yellow-gold with a half-finger of off-white head. Sits in the glass a rich amber-orange, pretty transparent.

S: Dank, earthy, herbal hops. Bits of lemon zest and cat piss. Smells archetypically west coast, but aroma doesn't quite 'pop' as much as I wish it did.

T: Very floral with bits of citrus. Flavors of grapefruit, lemon zest, and orange peel. Dank earth and resin come in on the finish and linger on the tongue. Very light crackery malt comes out more as it warms.

M: This may sound contradictory, but it has this weird mouthfeel that is both too thin but also surprisingly creamy. Together, these qualities actually make it incredibly drinkable.. Barely a hint of alcohol and malt backbone. Medium+ bitterness on the finish, but certainly not as overwhelming as what I'd come to expect from the style.

O: My first 'west coast' IPA in a minute after spending the past few months indulging (heavily) in the hazy NE-style juice bombs. Blind Pig is a wonderful change of pace and an nice 'bridge' between the two styles. While it definitely leans heavily toward the west coast style in taste, it is surprisingly smooth while possessing bits of citrus to complement the floral bitterness that dominates both aroma and taste. For the style--which I would not compare to that of many of the most hyped IPAs of today--it is a fine brew, supremely drinkable and refreshing.

Tastes like it smells with grapefruit, lemon zest, orange peel, tangerine, zesty citrus hops, piney hops, toasted grains, caramel, brown sugar, biscuit, light toffee, piney hops, faint floral hops and flowers and then some light peppery spices such as coriander and white pepper. Not the hop bomb I expected, it was a bit of a letdown.

Got this as a bonus in a beer trade. It was shipped from CA to MA, so out of refrigeration for a little bit. Bottle date was a tad over 2 weeks prior to drinking it.

I sometimes like to start with "Overall" because it's a nice intro to the review... O: easy to quaff, and easy to forget the ABV.

L: Though I live in the Northeast, I'm still partial to clear beer. They don't need to be crystal clear, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the thick cloudy stuff they're serving around here. Blind Pig is really clear. It's a straw color, and effervescent.

S: quality. I don't know how else to describe it without using cliches. There's a hint of piney resin, fruity hops, but it just smells balanced and refined.

T: Smooth as silk. Jeez, I haven't had a beer like this in a long time. I need to get back to my Harpoon IPA roots, as this reminded me of that. The flavor comes from a balanced use of early, mid, and late addition hops. No hop blasting with this. There is a crisp malt flavor too, but it's not cloying.

F: thin compared to what I'm used to these days, but a nod of approval because to me this is what a beer should be like. If I want a glass of nectar, I'll buy some nectar. This is great.

L- Poured a inch of head with lots of carbonation. (Poured from a crowler)
Darker golden color.

S- dank hops, citrus comes to the front of the flavors with floral and resinous flavors. Smells really good.

T- smooth, you get some orange, pine, floral, a slight bitterness on the back of the throat that is completely desired with this great taste going on with this beer.

F- dry finish, lingers over the tongue for about 15 seconds and leaves very smooth.

Overall-
Great flavors and at 6.2 % it is a desire able beer to go for that won't get you in too much trouble. Definitely an A grade beer. I really don't find anything wrong with this beer. It is perfectly balanced and has every taste I desire in an ipa..

Appearance: Poured a darker shade of gold, almost amber. Had a very small head that was gone within minutes.

Aroma: Had a very hoppy aroma which was very pleasant. The hops gave off nice aromas of both citrus and pine.

Taste: The flavor was what you would expect from a west coast style IPA, full of citrus notes and some good hop bitterness that lingered a bit on the tongue. A nice subtle malt backbone added to flavor of this delicious IPA.

Mouthfeel: Nice full-bodied beer that had a nice amount to of hop bitterness lingering on the tongue. Had a nice dry and bitter finish.

Overall: A great example of a west coast style IPA. Loved the citrus and pine aromas as well as the citrus and malt backbone in the taste. Easy drinking IPA as it does not have an overwhelming amount of hop bitterness but enough to taste and appreciate the hops. Very good brew.

A: Pours a beautiful crisp clear yellow almost light orange with a soapy looking white head. Medium carbonation and some good lacing. Great looking beer.

S: Nice citrus and pine character with great balance and smoothness. A little dank but mainly citrus and also a little fruity sweetness. An amazing smelling beer for sure. Really juicy.

T: Nice smooth bitterness and a lot of hop flavor. Nice and dry with a lot of hop character without being too over the top or bitter ass hell. Balance is definitely there and you can tell Vinnie knows wtf he's doing.

M: Medium carbonation and dry, which lends to a nice refreshing finishing bitterness. Great beer for sure.

O: An amazing beer I would not mind having everyday. Of course I'd prefer their other more well known and more popular beers but this is also along those lines. Well worth the try and a must have RR beers in my book.

Love this beer. As much as Pliny especially after they tweaked the hops in Pliny. Aroma is floral and crisp and fresh. Taste is also crisp with notes of berry and citrus. Not unpleasantly bitter at the end. Beautiful golden color and creamy head.

On tap at Toronado. Tasted side-by-side a pint of the Elder. My first impression is shock that this IPA has considerably more about juniper/pine than the 2xIPA from the same brewer. This beers aroma is intense, painful even. My tongue is freaking out as if I were about to dip it into a vat of citric acid. The juniper in this aroma is just plain ferocious. Inhaling Blind Pig is like having a bully grind your face into a juniper bush on the playground. My eyes are starting to water. Taste is more about sensation then flavor. It stings, it burns, it pricks, it bites, it kicks, and it growls. Beyond that and the thick pine oils I can taste pineapple and apricot but thats about it (I dont mind one but. This rocks). Finish is light, dry, and citric. Body is on the lighter side of medium. Appearance is similar to Plinny the Elder, just a tad lighter shade of golden amber leaning toward yellow with a thinner, shorter lived white head. Outstanding IPA, not for the faint of heart or hops. Just damned adventurous.

The aroma is of exotic fruits, mostly pineapple and mango, grass and mild tobacco notes. Very hoppy, not a whole lot of malts manage to get through.

The flavor is tightly held and centered around exotic fruit aromas, crisp citric hops and grass. Do I also pick up some elder flowers? Medium sweetness and notes of caramel in the background. The finish is slightly perfumy and very bitter with resiny hop notes.